Perfect Strangers  OneShots
by momsforpercy
Summary: Percy and Annabeth may have  finally  met, but who says the world of 'Perfect Strangers' has to be over? Let's explore 1 one-shot at a time the subplots, crazy moments and behind the scenes drama of our favorite AU.
1. AN  Um, why OneShots?

**I'mmmmmmm baaaaccckkkk! Did you miss me? I have missed writing and more importantly, I missed y'all.**

**It seems like only yesterday I started out on the crazy adventure that turned into 'Perfect Strangers.' Being my first story, I had no idea what I was doing and what to include or leave out. As I was finishing the story, there were some subplots and other aspects of the story that I wished I could have worked into the story. I thought about doing the one-shots for awhile. When I mentioned it to someone, they said something along the lines "why stay in the 'Perfect Strangers' world?"**

**It was a valid question and my answer? There are always stories to be told. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a point of view. The best books, movies, etc not only have strong main characters, but they have a supporting cast that make the story truly come alive, whether on paper, screen or stage.**

**My goal with these one-shots is to pay tribute to those in 'Perfect Strangers' who have a voice that wants to be heard. My wish is that you feel the same.**

**Enjoy!**

**Happy Reading,  
>MFP<strong>


	2. Getting Inked

**This first one-shot is how Percy acquired the turtle tattoo on his foot we read about in Chapter 8. **

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><p><strong>Chapter One - Getting Inked <strong>

It was a cold and snowy Saturday in mid-January.

Beckendorf, Nico, Percy and Rachel were thawing out in Rachel's bedroom. "Bedroom" is used loosely since it takes over the entire fourth floor of her parent's brownstone on the Upper East Side.

Percy already had his killer swim workout that morning. Nothing like churning out nine miles in the pool when it is below freezing outside.

Beckendorf already spent his three-hour plus session at the gym trying to get himself even more buff.

Nico, well Nico was finished doing whatever he does when the other two are busy.

Rachel spent that time painting some obscure picture and blasting her angry-chick-rock music loud enough to drive away her parents to their ski house in Vermont.

It was while she was painting that she came up her brilliant idea. One by one, she called the boys and told them to get their hot little buns over to her house.

Pronto!

By chance, they showed up at the same time and when she opened the door, Rachel skipped the normal greeting and informed them, "We are getting tattoos!"

"Huh?" said Percy in classic fashion.

"Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiceeeeeee!" drawled out Beckendorf.

"Hell to the yeah!" exclaimed Nico. And if the other three were not mistaken, he even did a little skip in the air.

There they were, sitting on the floor in Rachel's room, listening to not-so-angry-chick rock music and were deciding what tattoos they should get. Rachel's idea was for each of them to tell her what they wanted and then she would design it.

"This will make the tattoos über original and one of a kind," she explained.

"Doesn't 'original' and 'one of a kind' mean the same thing?" asked Nico. And for that smart ass comment, he received Rachel's ladybug plush pillow in his face.

"Can it, emo or I'll pay the tattoo artist $1000 to put of a colorful 'My Little Pony' on your arm."

After that, Nico canned it.

For a bit.

Rachel was torn between getting a sun or the moon. She told them about how she loves to watch the moon rise over Central Park.

"I find so much peace sitting out there and seeing the moon so close that I could touch it. My dad once told me he would buy me the moon. Knowing him, he could probably afford it" Rachel said bitterly.

Her father was one of the richest men in the world. He could probably buy the moon, half of the stars in the galaxy and pay off NASA to reinstate Pluto as a planet.

"On the other hand, I love when we visit our lake house in Maine."

"How many houses do you have?" Nico interjected.

"_Because," _Rachel continued as though she had not heard Nico, "of the way our land sticks out in a point in the water. I can see the sun rise on one side and set on the other side. It is truly magnificent."

In true Rachel Elizabeth Dare fashion, she decided to create a picture of both. The sun was the main feature and she interlocked the sun and moon in the middle. The colors were bright, vibrant and seemed to capture the heat of the sun and romance of the moon.

"Now, I have the best of both worlds. Okay, Beckendorf, you're up."

"Okay," Beckendorf started. "I want to break away from the typical football player tattoo where they get their number or whatever on their shoulder."

Nico's advice - "So why don't you get 'Kiss This' on your ass instead?" That earned him getting Rachel's Frosty the Snowman stuffed animal launched at his head like a missile.

"What do you like to do? Besides football?" asked Rachel.

"Well, I like to build things" Beckendorf said sheepishly. "I help my dad restore vintage cars and boats all the time. I am not just a meathead, ya know? I do know how to do other things with my hands beside throw a football and…"

"Feel up the ladies!" chimed Nico. Unsurprisingly, Rachel's stuffed animal Gus the Moose ended up in Nico's face.

After careful deliberation, Rachel created something that was truly a work of art. She drew a pirate ship and on each sail, she incorporated each of Beckendorf favorite activities – football helmet with his number (7) inside, a hammer and anvil, and a wheel. If you look at two of the sails closely, you can just barely make out a pair of lips.

"Wow, Rachel!" Beckendorf said in awe. "This is absolutely beautiful! Lips and all!"

"My turn! My turn! Me! Me! Me!"

"I take it you want to go next, Nico. Whatcha thinking?"

"I have been thinking about this for awhile and if any of you shmucks make a comment, I will bust your heads."

"Oh, so you can make fun of us, but we can't make fun of you?" asked Percy.

"Yeah, what's up with that?" chimed in Beckendorf.

"Maybe wittle Nico is sensitive," offered Rachel.

"Okay, I admit, I can dish it out but I can't take it" countered Nico.

"Just like Chandler on 'Friends.'" said Percy.

A moment of stunned silence.

"You watch 'Friends? Are you secretly a middle-aged woman?" This time Shnuggle the teddy bear was the assassin.

"Look, I know I may joke around a little."

"A lot" Rachel, Percy and Beckendorf said in unison.

"Okay, a lot, but this actually means a lot to me."

Nico paused to collect himself.

"After my mom and sister died last year, I have wanted to get a tattoo in honor of them. I mean, I think about them every day. I want something that I can look at when times are tough and remember them. I want to remember that no matter what, they are always with me. And to remind me of how lucky I am for the friends and family in my life."

This time, the moment of stunned silence was more out of respect than for laughter.

Rachel, Beckendorf and Percy lost themselves in their own memories. They each remembered that devastating day in April when Nico's mom, Maria, and sister, Bianca, were killed in a car accident. They were out for their monthly "Mother/Daughter Day" when some idiot who had too much to drink at a Yankees game ran a stop sign and plowed into their car.

Nico, Rachel and Beckendorf were at Percy's swim meet when Nico's dad called with the news. By the time they made it to Roosevelt Hospital, it was too late.

It has only been recently that Nico has emerged from the dark shadows and started hanging out, talking and laughing. They may act annoyed with his jokes, but secretly, they are all thrilled that Nico is at a place where he can joke again. He may still wear only black but at least he was bathing again, too.

Rachel was the one to break the silence. "That is beautiful, Nico. It would be my pleasure to draw something that would honor them."

"Yeah, Nico," said Percy. "That's awesome."

"Top notch mate," said Beckendorf.

Nico turned away so the others would not see the tears in his eyes. Then in classic Nico fashion, "Plus, chicks will think that I'm not only sexy but sensitive and will want to hook up with me."

Huggles, Mr. Bear, and Pumpkin Man were all launched at Nico from three different directions.

"Ouch, ouch, stop it! Jesus Red, you have way too many stuffed animals!"

Rachel was nervous when she showed them the design, but it was all for nothing. Beckendorf let out a low whistle "Whoa!"

Rachel drew a heart with wings coming out on the side. She wanted to incorporate Nico's Italian heritage into the tattoo so she wrote in Italian "Sempre nel mio cuore" which translates into "Always in my heart."

All Nico could do was smile as a single tear fell from his left eye.

Last but not least, it was Percy's turn. Percy Jackson, stud in and out of the water, is normally as outgoing as they come; however, he had been sitting on a hot pink bean bag chair deep in thought for the last 15 minutes.

"Earth to Percy!" shouted Rachel.

"Huh? What? Oh, umm. Sorry."

Nico's desire to honor his mom and sister stirred something in him. When he was younger, Percy was attached to his mother's side. As the years went on and the fights between his parents grew more intense, Percy retreated more and more into the pool and into the arms of the many girls at Goode High School. The Jackson men do not show emotion or weakness, but in that moment, Percy let his guard down.

"A turtle."

"Dude! You want a what?" Nico, Beckendorf and Rachel exclaimed at the same time.

"A turtle," Percy mumbled again.

"Yeah," said Nico. "That's what we thought you said."

"Perce, that is so macho!" continued Beckendorf. "But, I thought you would want a shark."

"Or an octopus," Nico quipped. "You know, because you have to handle so many hotties."

"Oh lay off him," said Rachel coming to his defense. "I think it's super cute and sweet."

After a pause of five seconds, the three of them started rolling around and laughing again. After the laughter died down, Percy launched into his tale.

"When I was a kid, my mom used to read me the book 'Hermy the Hermit Crab and the Sea Turtle Rescue.' One night Hermy comes across about 100 newly hatched sea turtles and he helps them find their way to the ocean. I knew every line by heart and would quote his tag line "No, not that way. Follow me!" all the time. I asked my mom if we could go to the beach in Montauk and join Hermy and the other sea turtles. After that, my mom called me her 'Little Turtle.' "

"You tell the girls that story…" started Nico.

"Yeah, yeah and they will think it is sexy and sensitive" finished the other three.

Nico launched himself off the leopard print papasan and started pelting the three of them with every stuffed animal in Rachel's room.

Rachel's interpretation of the sea turtle was exactly how he remembered it in the book. The shading of the turtle shell was so intricate and lifelike. The coloring of the flippers made it look like it was indeed swimming.

"It's perfect! Red, you are an artistic genius." Percy knew the perfect place for it – on top of his left foot. He decided then and there that before every race, he would look at it and say "love you, Mom" because he knew no matter what, his mom would always be there.

Fifteen minutes later, the four of them bundled up and head ed out into the ever increasing snow storm. After a crazy snowball fight that ended when Percy shoved a bunch of snow down Rachel's pants, they decided to skip the Dare's car service and trekked out to Tattoos by Hobo in SoHo.

They were lost in their own head thinking about their tattoos. They were happy, excited and a little wistful. Each had opened up a bit and enjoyed the connection that only comes with friends you have known your whole life. It was day that people write stories about.

If you looked at the four friends, you would notice a special glint in Rachel Elizabeth Dare's eyes. The reason - in each tattoo she had hidden one letter.

A different letter for each person.

Each letter on its own may not mean anything, but together means everything.

The letters?

P-A-L-S.

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><p><strong>Author's Note -<strong>

**Before I begin this A/N I want to thank those of you who voted for 'Perfect Strangers' for Best AU Veritas Award. I may have lost to 'Of Cuts and Pills' (which is an awesome story) but it was a huge honor to be nominated and have fans say they voted for me. You are too kind and your support made this all possible.**

****Many thanks to JustAnotherAthenaGirl for being my Beta. I am the one honored to have you want to read and critique for me****

**As for the one-shot - what did you think? Honesty is a must!**

**I have my ideas for one-shots, but if there is something you really want me to write, please, please, PLEASE let me know.**

**A quick (or not) note about the tattoos. I am trying to figure out how to the photos of them on my profile. Pretty much all the tattoos in this story I have or graces someone dear to me.**

**_Beckendorf -_ unfortunately, I don't know anyone with a pirate ship tattoo, but I do know plenty of guys who have their football, hockey, soccer, etc number inked somewhere.**

**_Rachel -_ the sun/moon tattoo is on my lower back. Like Rachel, I love laying out and just watching the moon rise. There is something romantic about it. The lake house in Maine is my family home that I grew up in every summer. You can indeed see the sun rise on one side and set on the other side of our property.**

**_Percy -_ Hermy the Hermit Crab is a real book and takes place where I live. I am not as fast as Percy in the water, but I have been competing in triathlon for over 5 years. I always draw a turtle on my foot before every race. I call it "Turtle Power."**

**_Nico -_ this tattoo means the most to me. It is a combination of a tattoo I and my cousin have. The heart with wings is on my left foot and it (like Nico's) signifies those I have loved and lost and reminds me of all I have to be happy for. The saying "Sempre nel mio cuore" is written on my cousin's chest over his heart in honor of his mom (my aunt/like a mom to me) that died too soon.**

**Hope I wasn't too mushy but if you can't open up and be honest on FF, where can you? :o)**

**Take care and have a wonderful weekend.**

**Happy reading,  
>MFP<br>**


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